conditions that prioritise exploration and the search for potential dangers or new opportunities decrease attentional engagement (UH)

if urbanisation does not decrease cognitive resources but only decreases engagement it should be possible to improve attentional selection in urbanised people by making the stimuli/task more engaging

TH vs UH and cognitive/WM load

according to the cognitive load account of urbanisation (BErman et al., 2008) increasing cognitive load should make TH more like UH on task of local selection

Caparos and Linnell 2010, Linnell and Caparos 2011: cognitive load defocuses spatial attention on a task of local selection

increasing cognitive load should make TH as unfocused as UH

Linnell et al., 2013: E2

When the Himba given numbers to remember on top of x task the cognitive load made the TH defocused and indistinguishable from UH. These findings are consistent with the idea that urbanisation exerts a load on cognitive resources

Linnell et al., 2013: E4

TH vs UH vs B with upright coloured head stimuli

speeded 2-AFC to signal if inverted head is black or white

UH and B can be as focused as TH when a task is attentionally engaging (upright faces)

familiarity confound

UH are just as defocused as B despite mostly never having seen a computer before

are Th less familiar with stimuli and does this mean that stimulus are effectively higher in perceptual load for TH producing the greater spatial focus

testing potential perceptual load account

Maylor and Lavie 1998

inside and outside circle, target on inside circle, old vs young pp

manipulation of perceptual load: varying set size

found

small set size: effect of incompatible distractor much greater for old

large set size: distractor effect decreased with less perceptual load for old for old suggesting older have smaller perceptual load capacity, reach their limit faster, and therefore attend better quicker

De Fockert et al., 2011: If TH and UH differ in subjective perceptual load then varying objective perceptual load should affect TH and UH differently however this is not the case so the do not differ in subjective perceptual load

effects of degree of urbanisation

Lederbogen 2011

degree of urban exposure in German pp affects recruitment of various brain regions under social stress

degree of urban living linked to amygdala recruitment

degree of urban upbringing linked to ACC recruitment

Haddad et al., 2015

degree of urban exposure in German pp affects GM volume in various brain regions

degree of urban upbringing linked to GM volume in right DLPRC and in ACC for men

Conclusions

UH and B can perform like TH when stimulus/task is more engaging (Linnell and Caparos, 2013) which is compatible with the idea that non-urbanised people are more attentionally engaged on the task at hand

engagement could be mediated (via arousal/motivation etc) and could be affected by long-term (urban upbringing) and short-term (urban living) processes